LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivethird-declension two-termination adjective

mītis

mītis (neuter mīte, comparative mītior, superlative mītissimus)
Classical[ˈmiː.tɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈmiː.tis]

Meaning

  1. two terminationmild, mellow, mature, ripe; sweet, juicy, succulent
  2. two terminationlight, fruitful, mellow.
  3. two terminationcalm, gentle, placid
  4. two terminationpeaceful, pleasant, clement, calm
  5. figurativelytwo terminationsoft, tolerable, meek, peaceful, gentle, mild
    Beātī mītēs: quoniam ipsī possidēbunt terramBlessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earthJerome, Vulgate Mt 5, 4
    Beātī mītēs: nam iī terram possidēbuntCastellio Mt 5, 4

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

lēnis, mānsuētus
mītis -e — in Aeneis, ch. 17

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Mitis · Lenis · Placidus

Mitis means mild, in opp. to acerbus, like μείλιχος; lenis (from lana? or from the Goth, latjan, lassus?) gentle, in opp. to vehemens, like πρᾶος; placidus, composed, in opp. to turbidus, like ἤπιος.

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativemītismītismīte
genitivemītismītismītis
dativemītīmītīmītī
accusativemītemmītemmīte
ablativemītīmītīmītī
vocativemītismītismīte
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativemītēsmītēsmītia
genitivemītiummītiummītium
dativemītibusmītibusmītibus
accusativemītīs
mītēs		mītīs
mītēs		mītia
ablativemītibusmītibusmītibus
vocativemītēsmītēsmītia

mītis, e, adj. etym. dub.; cf. Sanscr. mith-, to associate; Lat. mutuus,
I. mild, mellow, mature, ripe; of the soil, mellow, light, kindly, fruitful; of a river, calm, gentle, placid (class.; syn.: lenis, placidus, comis).
I. Lit.: sunt nobis mitia poma, Verg. E. 1, 81: uva, id. G. 1, 448: Bacchus (i. e. vinum), mellow, id. ib. 1, 344: suci, Ov. M. 14, 690: mite solum Tiburis, Hor. C. 1, 18, 2: mitis (fluvius) in morem stagni, Verg. A. 8, 88: flamma, harmless, innoxious, Sil. 16, 120.—
II. Trop., mild, soft, gentle.
A. In gen.: nihil tam vidi mite, nihil tam placatum, quam tum meus frater erat in sororem tuam, Cic. Att. 5, 1, 3: mitis tranquillusque homo, Plaut. Truc. 4, 3, 2: homo mitissimus atque lenissimus, Cic. Cat. 4, 5, 10: ex feris et immanibus, mites reddidit et mansuetos, id. Inv. 1, 2, 2.— Poet., with acc., in respect of: nec Mauris animum mitior anguibus, Hor. C. 3, 10, 18. —With dat.: mites hostibus, Ov. P. 2, 1, 48: poenitentiae mitior, towards the penitent, Tac. Agr. 16.—
B. Of things: mitis et misericors animus, Cic. Inv. 1, 55, 106: consilium, Ov. Tr. 1, 5, 5: doctrina, Cic. Mur. 29, 160: malum, blandum atque dolosum, Lucil. ap. Non. 343, 9: mitius exsilium, Ov. Tr. 2, 185: servitium, Prop. 3, 13, 20: opes, acquired through a long peace, Sil. 14, 653: affectus mitiores, Quint. 5, 13, 2: ingenium, Juv. 4, 82; 13, 184: animus, id. 14, 15.—
C. Of speech: Thucydides si posterius fuisset, multo maturior fuisset et mitior, riper and mellower, more palalable, Cic. Brut. 83, 288: mitis et compta oratio, id. Sen. 9, 28: non hac tam atroci, sed illa lege mitissima, causam dicere, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 9, § 26.—
III. Comically, made soft, mellow with beating: mitis sum equidem fustibus, Plaut. Mil. 5, 31; cf. Ter. Ad. 2, 4, 12.—Hence, adv.: mīte, mildly, soflly, gently (rare; not in Cic.): mite connivere, App. M. 10, p. 285, 4.—Comp.: mitius ille perit, Ov. P. 3, 7, 27. —Sup.: mitissime legatos appellare, Caes. B. G. 7, 43.

Origins

Of unclear origin, with multiple competing theories. The prevailing etymology connects Old Irish méth (“plump, fat”), Welsh mwyd (“act of soaking”), Welsh mwydion (“soft parts”) (from Proto-Celtic *meitos (“soft, plump”)); Old Irish mín (“soft; gentle, smooth; mild, tender, calm”) (Proto-Celtic *mīnis); and Old Irish moíth (“soft, tender”) (Proto-Celtic *moitos), together from Proto-Indo-European *meyh₁- (“mild, soft”). Other potential Indo-European cognates also point to a meaning like “pleasant”: Sanskrit मयस् (máyas, “pleasure, enjoyment, refreshment”), Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬵 (maiiah, “pleasure”), Proto-Slavic *mìlъ (“soft, mild, gentle, agreeable, pleasant, sweet, dear”), Lithuanian mielas (“nice, sweet, cute”), Latvian mīls (“dear, cherished, beloved”), Old Prussian mijls (“dear”), Albanian mirë (“good, well”). De Vaan suggests that the root *meyh₁- is actually *meh₁i-, being originally an extension of *meh₁- (“to measure”). Alternatively, Oettinger compares Hittite 𒈠𒀀𒄿𒀭𒍣 (ma-a-i-an-zi, “to grow (up); to prosper”), reconstructing Proto-Indo-European *meyH- (“to ripen”); Kloekhorst rejects this on both semantic and formal grounds. Plötz suggests it to be a zero-grade extension of the prohibitive particle *meh₁i, specifically labeling it a derivative from *mh₁i-tis.

Descendants
  • Italianmite
  • Italianmezzo
  • Englishmitis

Quick answers

What does mītis mean in Latin?
mītis, a adjective, means “mild, mellow, mature, ripe; sweet, juicy, succulent; light, fruitful, mellow.”.
How do you pronounce mītis?
In classical Latin, [ˈmiː.tɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈmiː.tis].